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Plain Dealer
Judge Rejects Spirko's Argument Saturday, October 29, 2005
Sandra Livingston A federal judge in Toledo has refused to revisit the case of death-row inmate John Spirko, finding no reason to further investigate complaints by former co-workers about the investigator who helped win Spirko's 1984 murder conviction. With just over two weeks to go until Spirko's scheduled execution, the case returns to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In a Friday ruling, U.S. District Judge James Carr rejected arguments that retired Postal Inspector Paul Hartman lied under oath during questioning by Spirko's lawyers when he said he had never been the subject of a complaint. Carr said Hartman clearly thought he was being asked whether he had been named in a formal agency complaint. The judge said Hartman's fellow postal inspectors and employees had complained about his temperament and behavior as a supervisor in 2000. Hartman disputed the complaints, but decided to retire earlier than planned. Carr privately reviewed government records about the complaints and found nothing relating to the Spirko investigation, prosecution or conviction. This was Carr's second Spirko ruling in two months. In early September, he rejected arguments that the state used fraud to thwart the inmate's earlier appeal. Spirko's lawyers were appealing that decision when they received a letter by a former Hartman co-worker raising questions about his integrity and professionalism -- and whether Spirko was guilty of murder. That letter prompted Spirko's lawyers to seek relief from Carr. Lawyers for Spirko and the state subsequently interviewed Hartman's former co-worker. But he offered no specific information about improper action by Hartman in the Spirko case. Now that Carr has ruled, the underlying case returns to the appeals court. Lawyers for Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro have denied the fraud allegations. To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: slivings@plaind.com, 216-999-4453
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